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Best value"Stanley" knife blades

I've had several packs of the cheapos bought in 100 dispensers which were fine for the lads to use and abuse on plasterboard and general stuff but the didn't last 10 minutes. I still have some which I keep for rough stuff but also half a pack of Stanley blades which are far superior. You get what you pay for in this case Bob IMHO
 
I buy the hundred pack ones because I use so many for scraping, glue, rough faces etc. I even use them as cabinet scrapers on my instruments. As soon as they're worn, they go in the metal recycling box.
 
^ Same. I just accept that they will get knackered or gummed up quite fast. The duratool has similar dispenser to silverline but the blades are better.
 
Or just buy old stanley knives from car boots which are in terrible condition. Most people dont know they usually have a couple of replacement blades inside which are old and of much better quality.
 
I might last have purchased a pack of Stanley knife blades sometime in the 1990s, or maybe 2000s. They're so easy to sharpen on the edge of a stone, so why keep buying the bloody things? Top to bottom: marking knife for general marking usually against a set square or rule, bird's beak knife for marking dovetail pins from the cut tail, and bottom, a Stanley knife, 1970/80's vintage maybe, with a blade that may have only been sharpened/touched up perhaps 100 times. As can be seen, each knife is a premium top-of-the-range item for which I spent, when sourced, top dollar, so to speak. Slainte.


Marking Knives-700px.jpg
 
you can also re-sharpen them I have found, I've managed to make them last a long time by doing that.
I also resharpen them... but, I am a fanatical cheapskate (a descriptor used in the UK?).
I keep them all over the shop, and a fine diamond paddle is never far away for a quick touch-up.
If not abused, you can keep them alive for (just about) ever...
And pass the blades on to your progeny... šŸ˜„
 
If you must insist on using knives intended for opening packaging, then get the Olfa break away blades. These are much the same price and the best available. I use them for cutting veneer.



Alternately, get a craft knife with replaceable (Swann-Morton) blades. This one is made by Stanley ...



Don't listen to a bloody word from Richard. He learned his woodworking at B&Q. :)

Regards from Perth

Derek
 
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I also resharpen them... but, I am a fanatical cheapskate (a descriptor used in the UK?).
I keep them all over the shop, and a fine diamond paddle is never far away for a quick touch-up.
If not abused, you can keep them alive for (just about) ever...
And pass the blades on to your progeny... šŸ˜„
another word for cheapskate is skinflint, I also like to make them last as long as possible, skinflints unite!
 
I got totally hacked off with the 'normal' Stanley blades and switched some time ago to the same sort of blades/knife as Derek of Oz; ie little break off jobbies so that there's always a new bit available once the old worn out one's been snipped off with a pair of pliers.

They're NFG at cutting through 2mm thick veneer though - Rob
 
I got totally hacked off with the 'normal' Stanley blades and switched some time ago to the same sort of blades/knife as Derek of Oz; ie little break off jobbies so that there's always a new bit available once the old worn out one's been snipped off with a pair of pliers.

They're NFG at cutting through 2mm thick veneer though - Rob

Rob, marking and cutting is mainly done at the tip of the blade. Breaking off the end provides a fresh tip to use. You can also sharpen the blades by honing the flat back of the tip. Run it along a 600-1200 grit diamond stone a few times.

I've just made a new marking knife (I'd rather make my own than purchase one). The handle/grip is based on the dovetail marking knife I designed many years ago (around the same time that Blue Spruce brought out theirs). The blade is inspired by the Stanley craft knife (above), and making the combination was inspired by a knife created by David Barron years ago. His was a fixed blade. A few years back Matt Estlea produced a replacable blade version. Mine is similar but a simpler construction (as I do not have a metal lathe).

New knife sandwiching the dovetail/detail knife ...



Regards from Perth

Derek
 
I did a few of those as well some years ago, mostly in
Rob, marking and cutting is mainly done at the tip of the blade. Breaking off the end provides a fresh tip to use. You can also sharpen the blades by honing the flat back of the tip. Run it along a 600-1200 grit diamond stone a few times.

I've just made a new marking knife (I'd rather make my own than purchase one). The handle/grip is based on the dovetail marking knife I designed many years ago (around the same time that Blue Spruce brought out theirs). The blade is inspired by the Stanley craft knife (above), and making the combination was inspired by a knife created by David Barron years ago. His was a fixed blade. A few years back Matt Estlea produced a replacable blade version. Mine is similar but a simpler construction (as I do not have a metal lathe).

New knife sandwiching the dovetail/detail knife ...



Regards from Perth

Derek
I did a few of those as well some years ago, mostly in African Blackwood which were purchased by mates on UKWorkshop:

463306212_8070854063018836_6912529612107250621_n.jpg

...but one made in 2009 was a 'special' in She Oak:

461522669_7914128088691435_5339443089479966429_n.jpg

....and came with it's own:

462915732_8061245283979714_3031329000446470522_n.jpg

...rosewood presentation box - Rob
 
Rob, those are really beautiful knives (!), in the tradition of Blue Spruce. They have a fixed v-blade. Yours look quite heavy duty. My detail/dovetail knife - the middle of the three above - is quite lightweight as the blade is skinny for slim dovetails. Not for heavy use.

The new knives have brass cassettes for holding Swann-Morton blades. I have chosen to limit my interest here to the SM01 blade (flat bevel) and the SM03 blade (angled bevel). See below. The SM01 is great for heavy work used with an overhand grip, and the SM03 is great for fine work used with a pencil grip ...



They are tough knives, replacing a Stanley craft knife, adding ergonomics and looking more like a knife used by a woodworker (as do yours).

Regards from Perth

Derek
 
Talk to your local independent carpet shop / fitter. Ask them to order you a box from the trade suppliers. Boxes of 500 from memory. My box has lasted 10 years to date !
 
I have one of Rob's knives and it is beautiful. It gets regular use. I just wish I could sharpen it as nicely as it was when it was new.
S
Great to hear you're still using it Steve. IIRC I had to set up a special jig thingie on the Tormek to grind the angles symmetrically - Rob
 
Incidentally, I also have (or at least had, not seen it for a while) another knife of the same style. It might be a Veritas. I'd not had it very long when I broke off the very tip. I made a right mess of trying to re-sharpen it.
I was at a Show once and noticed that one of the demonstrators was using the same marking knife. And guess what? His knife had the very tip missing as well.
That made me feel a lot better. I assume that the blade is hard but a bit too brittle. My RS knife has never given me any such grief.
S
 
That made me feel a lot better. I assume that the blade is hard but a bit too brittle. My RS knife has never given me any such grief.
S
I think, but can't be sure that the blades were made from a thin blank of O1 steel from Chronos(?) that I hardened and tempered. It was a while back and the 'little grey cells' aren't perhaps working quite as well as they were. My excuse anyway :ROFLMAO: - Rob
 
Here is a selection of some marking knives, pseudo-marking knives, and marking knives to-be:
(Yes, I raided the kitchen utensil drawer! :) )
Contained herein are some certain to offend at least a few in the audience...

01 Overview dsc06740.jpg

These Dexter-Russell utility knives make very good marking knives on the cheap after some reshaping.
They are full-flat grind, not Scandi-grind, etc., so they can be used from either side. The blades are quite thin.

01 Dexter dsc06734.jpg

01 Dexter dsc06735.jpg

Honourable mention:

01 awls dsc06749.jpg
 
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